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April ► No Sex Please, We're Tories While opinion polls suggest a Labour party victory, the Conservative Party locks up its fourth straight election on April 9. Proving the pollsters unreliable, the Tories enter their fourth consecutive term in office. Labour lead­ er Neil Kinnock resigns after the disheartening loss. The Magician Visionary film director Satyajit Ray dies in Calcutta on April 23 at the age of 70. A month before his death, Ray was presented with a special Oscar, which he accepted during the live telecast, with dignity and aplomb, from his bed. Ray, much of whose work investigated the sometimes precarious balance between the mystical and the secular in India, is mentioned in the short list of pioneering and influential filmmakers. Strike Force By the end of April, the newly united Germany comes to a halt as public sector workers strike for two weeks, finally receiving government assurance for the pay increase that the workers asked for before the strikes began. Instead of averting the massive shutdown, the govern­ ment prolonged the complete closure of mass transit, and several airports. Puck You By a vote of 560 to 4, the National Hockey League players walk out on April 1 as the play­ offs near. Prognosticators fear that the league itself will dissolve due to the increasingly fac­ tious relationship between players and man­ agement. Even though the two sides agree to finish out the season, sensitive issues remain unresolved. An Arthurian Legend As a national newspaper poises to publish the information, Arthur Ashe announces he is HIV-positive on April 8, quickly reminding people that he contracted the virus from a blood transfusion during open heart surgery. Along with Althea Gibson, the 1975 WimWedon and 1968 U.S. Open champ helped to snap tennis segregation, and served as inspi­ ration to a latter generation of players, such as Zina Garrison, Brian Shelton, Lori McNeil and MaiWashington. 30